Suchi had been a memory that sometimes felt realer than reality, a path not taken, a regret he couldn’t reconcile. Now she was actually real. He could breathe her back into his world with one phone call. Briefly, he indulged again in the fantasy—her voice, the airport, the warmth of her body. The life beyond. This he could not get past. Because he knew the life beyond could not conform to a fantasy. It would be messy, it would be hurtful. He could not right Suchi’s life without leaving Linyee’s in shambles. He owed a debt no matter which way he turned.
